Contents of a large box purchased from Good Food Box Nipissing. Photo by Dennis Chippa
Wednesday was packing day for the Good Food Box. About a half dozen volunteers spent two hours packing boxes of fresh vegetables and fruit, purchased in bulk, to provide at a low cost to North Bay families.
Tiffany Fournier, who co-ordinates Good Food Box Nipissing, says the program, now into its third month, is available to the entire city.
‘The target population was low income households, but the program is open to everyone. The idea is simple: encourage people to eat healthier, and by buying wholesale, eating healthy for less. ‘
There are two types of boxes: a small, which costs ten dollars and would feed a single person or a couple, and a larger family box, which is twenty dollars. You can order more than one box
The boxes were packed at the warehouse, then distributed to the Good Food Box’s three sites, at the Indian Friendship Centre, the Granite Club and the Nurse Practitioner led clinic.
Fournier says people can order food boxes through the sites, in advance. ‘The deadline is the second Wednesday of the month, So you have that first week and a half of the month to make your order at the sites. “
Funding to start up the program came from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, under an internship from Northern Ontario Development and Mines. The plan is to expand the Good Food Box throughout the city, with more distribution sites coming on board in the next few months.
Fournier says because the produce is purchased in bulk, more people buying the boxes, actually lowers the costs, and increases the content of the boxes. ‘
‘The more people we can get the better. The more people that purchase a box, the more you get in the box in larger quantities. Because we are buying in bulk at wholesale costs, the more you get the cheaper. For instance, with a large box you may be paying 20 dollars, but you are getting thirty to thirty-two dollars’ worth of produce. ‘
The Good Food Box is already anticipating the increased demand. Organizers are looking for more volunteers to help pack boxes on delivery day. If interested, contact Tiffany at Good Food Box for more information at 705 472-2441, ext. 142.
